


A Hiding Place

by Northern_Lady



Series: Unfinished Marvel Tales [10]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, Thor (Movies)
Genre: Adventure & Romance, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Bad Parenting, Desire, Kisses, Lust, Pre-Thor: Ragnarok (2017), Rescue, Romance, Secrets, Threats of Rape/Non-Con, Unhappy Childhood, drunk dad, evil alien invader
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-09-28
Updated: 2018-10-02
Packaged: 2019-07-18 15:56:13
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 8,015
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16121837
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Northern_Lady/pseuds/Northern_Lady
Summary: Loki saves Darcy, and she in turn saves him.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This story was written several years ago and has been incomplete for a long while. I hoped that sharing it might inspire me to write further or at least be enjoyable to someone else to read.

Darcy didn’t quite understand how the hell it had happened but she found herself trapped in a conference room in the Avengers facility while a very violent fight was taking place just outside the door. Darcy was curled up under a table while she listened to the sounds of gunfire, swords, and strange alien weapons. She tried to take comfort in the fact that Thor and the rest of the Avengers were out there somewhere. They were the good guys, They had this. If only she had stuck close to Thor and Jane instead of making an excuse about needing some Skittles and leaving them alone to make googly eyes at each other. A girl can only stand so much googly eyes and cutesy comments before it becomes sickening and she needs to treat her perpetual singleness to a candy distraction. If not for that, Darcy might have been in the room with Thor when the attack began and not alone under a table without even so much as a taser for protection. 

Someone was at the door of the conference room. Darcy sucked in a breath and willed herself to stay silent as the door was flung open followed by a barrage of gunfire, then slammed shut again. From under the edge of the conference table, Darcy could see black boots, black pants, and the bottom edge of a dark cloak trimmed in green and gold. Oh shit. That might be Loki. He was supposed to be dead though, so it couldn’t be him, except… Darcy moved a little so she could get a better look. Yep. That was definitely Loki. Were the aliens that were attacking here because he brought them? Probably. All Darcy knew was that she had to find some way to get out and find out what the hell was going on. Loki had begun moving chairs around the conference table. He was stacking them up in front of the door like some sort of barricade. Why would he be doing that? Darcy made an attempt at crawling a little deeper under the table. Two more chairs and there would be no place left for her to hide. 

Suddenly Loki stopped moving. “Who’s there?” He said warily. “Come out from there peaceably and you will not be harmed.” 

Darcy was frozen to the spot where she had tried to hide. “Um...sorry no...I’m not buying that since you are the god of mischief and all…” Darcy blurted out. 

Loki ducked down and looked under the table, regarding her with confusion. “My mischief has nothing to do with you.” He said, irritated. “Now come out of there or I shall have to drag you out.” 

More than a little shaken, Darcy crawled out from under the table and got to her feet. Loki was all but ignoring her at this point and was adding the last two chairs to the stack in front of the door. 

“I don’t suppose you’ll move those aside so I can get out?” Darcy said. 

Loki glared at her. “I will not.” 

Darcy sighed. “What do you need them for anyway? I don’t know who is out there but whoever it is, I don’t think office furniture is gonna do much to stop them. They sound pretty lethal…” 

“If you truly believed that, why hide under a table?” Loki asked her, barely looking at her as he adjusted his tower of chairs. 

“Because I’m not a god, I don’t have magical powers, or a shield, or a hammer. I have to use whatever I can to protect myself….so why would a powerful being such as yourself use chairs constructed by us mortals as a barricade?” 

Loki stopped what he was doing and glared at her intently. “Are you trying to irritate me so that I will let you leave? I must warn you, it is a poor escape strategy.” 

“And a stupid one.” Darcy agreed. Then she watched as Loki waved his hands over the chairs and she saw them move of their own accord into what seemed to be a living beast made of office chairs. 

“Oh shit,” Darcy said as she saw what he had done. “You just built Optimus Prime, the office version anyway.” 

Loki stared at her. “What is your name, Midgardian?” 

“It’s Darcy Lewis. And can I go? Now that you’ve made this chairricade thing, you don’t need me for anything.” 

“I think not,” Loki said simply. “There are a lot of Lorasians out there. They won’t hesitate to kill either one of us.” 

“So you did bring them here?” Darcy said. It was only half a question. “They’re here looking for you.” 

“They are indeed looking for me and unfortunately, my brother has the only weapon that can stop them.” Loki said. 

“I don’t think he’s gonna help you…” Darcy blurted out. “I think he’s gonna be pretty pissed that you brought all this trouble down on his friends. I mean even if he does pull out the old hammer to help out the locals, when this is over, you’re going down.” 

“It isn’t the hammer that I need. It’s Odinsword. The blade has special powers and was granted to Thor by Odin long ago but he never uses it. If I could just borrow it…” Loki said, frustrated. 

“You came here to steal Thor’s sword?” 

“I came here to escape a madman who tortured and imprisoned me for three years. He means to conquer worlds and would have come to Midgard eventually anyway. This was the only way to see him dead.” Loki said. 

“Okay, so why don’t you let me out and I can go ask Thor about the sword? He’s got a merciful side, a side that cares about justice. Maybe he’ll just wield the sword himself and kill this enemy, what’s his name?” 

“Gulvard. His name is Gulvard.” Loki said. “But I can not allow you to leave.” 

“Yeah, that’s what I thought.” Darcy sighed. “So you’re just gonna do what? Hole up in this conference room and let the Avengers fight your battles for you?” 

“It was only a scout ship that followed me here. Not more than twenty warriors. Your Avengers can take care of them easily enough. When the battle is done and the scouts do not return, Gulvard will send a larger force. I will fight in that battle only if I have Odinsword. I can not hope to win without it.” 

Darcy wasn’t sure she believed a word Loki said. He was known for his lies after all, but so far his story at least sounded plausible. She sat down on top of the conference table, wracking her brain trying to think of ways to escape. She sat there with her legs dangling from the table, arms crossed deep in thought. 

“Are you not frightened?” Loki asked, taking in the sight of her. 

“Oh I’m scared shitless,” Darcy said quite honestly. “I mean my friends are being attacked by aliens and I have no way of knowing if they are alright and now I’m trapped in a room with an evil Norse god...so yeah, I’m frightened.” 

“Evil?” Loki sounded insulted. 

“Well what you did in New York wasn’t exactly benevolent,” Darcy said. 

Loki stared at her a moment. “I suppose from your perspective…” 

“You mean from the perspective of a puny human?” 

Loki gave her a funny look but said nothing to that. A noise in the hallway had his attention. “Darcy Lewis, you should return to your hiding place beneath the table,” Loki said cautiously. 

Darcy didn’t hesitate. She was back beneath the table in a near instant. Moments later the door was broken open and Loki’s chair monster came to his aid in fighting the reptilian alien that had invaded the conference room. Darcy couldn’t see much of the fight from beneath the table but she could see enough to realize that Loki had placed himself between her and the alien almost as if he were protecting her. Well, she supposed that made sense. She was probably going to be his hostage eventually. How else was he going to get the sword from Thor? Loki would need a living hostage if he wanted to make his brother give up the sword...though, there were lots of people in the building, he didn’t really need the hostage to be Darcy specifically. In that case, it made little sense why he didn’t just let the alien kill her except that the alien didn’t even seem to realize she was in the room. Not until Loki knocked him to the floor, that is. The alien caught sight of her under the table and dove in her direction. Darcy screamed. It wasn’t like her to scream. She only ever did it if there was a spider in the shower or something creepy like that. Reptilian alien diving at her face definitely counted as creepy. The scream was cut short by the sight of Loki’s spear stabbing through the back of the alien attacker. He was dead. Darcy was too stunned to move. 

“Are you unharmed?” Loki asked, reaching out a hand to help her from under the table. 

Darcy ignored his hand and crawled out on her own. “I’m fine...I just...I don’t get it…” 

“I know. His diving at you in the middle of a fight gave him quite the disadvantage. Lorasians tend to act irrationally if women go near the battlefield. They’d rather rape than fight.” Loki explained but that didn’t explain the one thing that truly confused her. 

“I mean I don’t get why you helped me unless you just need a hostage,” Darcy admitted freely. 

Loki actually looked hurt by her words but he quickly schooled his features. “Clearly,” He said dryly and turned away from her to deal with dragging the dead body to the corner of the room. 

Darcy considered making for the door while his back was turned. She took two steps nearer the door and was prepared to make a run for it. 

“Don’t.” Loki said, without looking at her. “You will not fare well if the Lorasians find you.” 

“Well, there’s only nineteen left, maybe less, and this building is pretty big,” Darcy said. “I could probably find a better place to hide. Unless you really did just need me as a hostage.” 

“I don’t need you at all,” Loki said, insulted. “I am actually trying to help you but can only see me as evil, so go if you wish. I’ll not stop you.” 

Darcy bolted for the door and in less than a minute had reached the stairwell at the end of the hall and run down two flights of stairs. Then she heard it. Footsteps coming up the stairs. She sucked in a breath and went still. Carefully, slowly, Darcy peeked over the edge of the rail to see who was coming up the stairwell. What she was was not at all encouraging. He was green, reptilian, and to her great horror, he glanced up at her and grinned with a mouth full of pointy teeth. The alien began a mad rush up the stairwell and Darcy had little choice but to run up as well. She got up one flight and took the door onto that floor, hoping to make it to an elevator where she could lock herself inside. The alien was faster than she was. He caught up to her and threw her to the ground before she ever reached the elevator. Darcy didn’t remember screaming. She couldn’t remember ever being so terrified in all her life. But before the alien could truly harm her, he gave a great cry of pain and alien blood spurted from his chest and all over Darcy’s clothes. She looked up in time to find Loki pulling his spear from the back of her attacker. 

Breathless and shaken, Darcy had no idea what to say. “I heard your screams,” Loki said. “Come, it’s not safe in this corridor.” Loki offered her a hand up and this time she was so shaken that she took it. 

Loki led her further down the hall and then pulled her into a restroom. 

“This is the women’s restroom,” Darcy said, unsure what he was doing or if he even knew how these things worked. 

“I am aware, yes.” Loki said, glancing out into the hallway to see if they had been followed. 

“So why are we hiding in the women’s restroom?” 

“Can you contact Jane Foster with that device you carry?” Loki asked her, not answering her question. 

Darcy pulled her cell phone from her pocket. “I can. Why?” 

“Tell her that Loki has taken you hostage until Thor gives up Odinsword.” Loki said. 

Darcy couldn’t believe him. Two minutes ago he was setting her free and rescuing her from an alien. Now she was a hostage again. This Norse god was nuts. Not only that, but the fact that Thor probably wouldn’t give up the sword so easily. “He thinks you’re dead,” Darcy reminded Loki. “I need to take a selfie of us as proof.” 

“A what?” Loki asked as Darcy leaned closer to him and snapped the picture. 

Darcy sent the picture and the text and moments later received a reply. “She wants to know where I am. She says Thor is on his way.” 

Loki nodded. “I want a picture of Odinsword. I want proof that he has it before I tell him where I am.” 

Darcy sent his request, never bothering to tell him that Jane could probably track her phone and find them anyway. It took nearly five minutes of Loki pacing the floor in the women’s restroom before Jane sent a reply. “Here’s your picture. That’s a pretty badass looking sword. I hope I’m worth the trade for that.” 

Loki glanced at the picture, then at her. “My apologies.” 

“For what?” Darcy asked, confused. 

“For trading you for a sword. I’m sure you’re worth far more. It seems however, that I am left with no other options.” 

Darcy stood gaping at him for a moment. “Are you for real? Why not just say, hey Thor, I’m alive after all but someone is trying to kill me, so can I borrow your sword that you never use?” 

“Thor would never bring the sword unless he believed it was to save someone else. His mistrust at finding I am alive would be too great. This is the only way.” 

“That’s weird, because ten minutes ago you said I was free to go. Did you only figure out your evil plan just now or was I never truly free?” 

For a moment Loki looked angry. “First of all, no one is truly free. Secondly, I never intended to be followed to Midgard by the Lorasians. I meant to take the sword by stealth. Being followed destroyed my original plan. Thirdly, I did allow you to leave and you immediately fell into danger. You will be safer if you remain with me until Thor comes for you.” 

“Okay, so this is Evil Plan B,” Darcy said with a nod. “I get it. It’s too bad you didn’t happen on Natasha as a hostage instead of me because if you had…” Darcy didn’t finish that thought but it was amusing to imagine Nat taking him down. 

“How many times must I explain to you, it isn’t an evil plan?” Loki said, frustrated with her. “The Lorasians will invade and kill the people of earth. I am trying to help you!” 

“Well, four years ago, invading and killing the people of earth was kinda your thing so...you haven’t exactly explained why you’ve changed your mind on that bit.” 

Loki hung his head. “I was trying to gain a position of power on a Lorasian outpost colony and was caught as an imposter. My magic is not as strong as Gulvard’s. My life is not as long as his people. As such, I was treated as inferior. I was imprisoned and tortured for three years and Gulvard cared nothing for my suffering because I was not Lorasian...I suppose you could say, I learned empathy. I learned that the people of Midgard are not inferior for their shorter lives or lesser magic. They are simply different. Had I to do it over again, I would not have invaded earth. I would like to stop a second invasion from happening. So just send your message and get Thor here so we can end this.” 

Darcy regarded him skeptically. He could be lying. It was a really good lie if was a lie but she had no way of knowing anything at all about what he had said. She sighed and sent the message. 

“Thor will be here in five minutes. He’ll probably bring some of the other Avengers. They might try to kill you. Am I actually gonna get out of this alive? Because if I’m not I need to make some calls…” Darcy began, worriedly. 

Loki looked at her sadly. “You will live through this Darcy Lewis. I swear it.” 

He sounded so genuine that Darcy wanted to believe him but she couldn’t truly bring herself to do that. “How?” she squeaked out the question. She just couldn’t see how the Avengers trying to kill or capture Loki, and her being his hostage could ever end well. 

“I will need you to play the part of hostage until I have the sword and then I will fly you some place safe where you friends can transport you home. They will not harm you to get to me.” Loki said. 

“Nick Fury might, if he felt he had to,” Darcy said truthfully. “And he’s here somewhere. He showed up for a meeting this morning.” 

“I see…” Loki sounded a little worried. They heard heavy footsteps approaching. “Come no closer, Brother. We’re coming out.” 

Darcy expected that at this moment, Loki would hold his spear to her neck and forcibly drag her out. He didn’t. He took her arm and pulled her out of the room almost gently. Thor was alone and he carried the sword. 

“Loki...what in hels are you doing?” Thor sounded emotional with every word. 

“I have not harmed her, not will I. More Lorasians are coming. I need Odinsword to stop them. Give it to me and I will leave Darcy Lewis some place safe where you can find her.” 

Thor’s face was a flood of emotions. “How do I know it is truly you? Another could have taken your form?” 

“Does it matter? Will you risk her life over my identity?”

Thor heaved a great sigh and handed over the sword. Loki took a step back, put an arm around Darcy. “Do not follow me.” He flew with her, out the nearest window. 

Darcy had never flown like this before. Loki had a good grip on her. He was strong and wasn’t going to drop her. It was still harrowing nonetheless. They landed in a park a few miles away. Darcy tried to catch her breath and slow her racing heart while Loki looked over the sword to ensure that it was genuine. He turned to Darcy. “Send your message. I leave you now and wish you good fortune.” Loki took a step back. 

“Wait..” Darcy found herself calling after him. “Thank you…” she meant for the two aliens he had killed. He nodded, understanding. Then he took one more step back and flew away. 

********************

For weeks after that, Darcy had dreams about Loki. Well, she had dreams about being shot at and kidnapped and Loki rescuing her. She had been unable to convince the Avengers after the events of the attack that Loki had in fact saved her life twice. She had been unable to comprehend in all this time, why he might have done that. She dreamed about him again and again nonetheless and sometimes the dreams didn’t even take place while she was asleep. Sometimes she just sat daydreaming about the hunky god of mischief during all hours of the day. She knew it was both useless and stupid to lust after Thor’s adopted brother like this. Maybe he wasn’t entirely evil anymore but that didn’t change what he had done, and that didn’t change the fact that she, Darcy Lewis, was a mortal woman unworthy of an Asgardian Prince. 

It was late one evening and Darcy sat in front of the TV in her apartment with a pint of Ben and Jerry’s as she tried to drown her sorrows in another netflix binge. A noise out on the fire escape broke her from her thoughts of self pity. It was probably just that kid upstairs, Brandon. He was fifteen years old and lived with his mom. He spent way too much time sneaking out at night and then being yelled at by his mom the next day. Irritated, Darcy got to her feet ready to catch the kid in the act and send him home. She threw back the curtain, pulled open the window, and looked up to fin not teenaged Brandon standing there but Loki, bleeding and wounded. 

“Loki?” She all but stammered. 

“Miss Lewis…” Loki coughed out her. “Might I request your assistance?” At that he fell to his knees, collapsed more like. 

“Oh my god…” Darcy reached out the window and helped him drag himself inside. He was heavy and weakened but he managed to get in anyway. 

Loki ended up on her sofa. Darcy helped him to remove his shirt, revealing a not only a stab wound in his right shoulder but multiple bruises all over his torso. Even with all the wounds, he was stunningly hot and it took her a moment to stop her inner drooling long enough to remember basic first aid. Of course she had no way of knowing if basic first aid would work the same way on his physiology but she had to try something to help him. Actually, she didn’t have to help him, it occurred to her as she grabbed a towel and applied pressure to his wounded shoulder that she probably shouldn’t help him at all after what he had done in New York. But some part of her wanted to help anyway. 

“What happened to you? What are you doing here?” Darcy demanded of him. 

“The Lorasians...they finally caught up to me. The good news for you is it’s over. Gulvard is dead. There will be no invasion of Midgard.” Loki said, though he sounded weak and maybe ill. 

Darcy put a hand to his forehead. “Are your people always so warm? Do you have a fever?” 

He nodded. “Yes, my wound is infected. There was poison in the blade that Gulvard cut me with. I received the injury a week ago. I can not return to Asgard for treatment and I can not enter a hospital on Midgard without being recognized. I had hoped that you might assist me Miss Lewis. If you will not help me, in two or three days, I will die.” 

Wow. Holy shit. A god had come to her, a mortal for help? Darcy could already guess what Jane would say. She hated Loki as did most of the people of New York. They would want her to let him die. But Loki had saved her life twice and if he was telling the truth about the Lorasians then he had saved earth from an alien invasion. More than that, the fear in his eyes had Darcy ready to throw aside everything that she knew Jane might say. No one else’s opinion mattered anyway. It wasn’t right to just let someone die if she could do something to help. If Loki needed to be brought to justice then someone else could do that. They could do it later after he survived this. 

“What do you need me to do?” Darcy heard herself asking. 

“There is a flower that grows on Asgard called Nightlilly. It can help me survive the poison. Your friend Jane Foster will be interested in this flower, as a scientist. Tell her about it or get Thor to mention it and when she goes to Asgard research this flower I need you to bring me some, a few petals at most.” Loki explained. 

“Why not just ask Thor to bring you some? He doesn’t like what you did but I’m sure he doesn’t want you to die.” 

“No! I don’t want Thor to save me. I don’t need him.” 

“Okay, so I have to get a flower that grows on another planet. No big deal…” Darcy said with a sigh. She didn’t see how she was going to pull this one off. 

Loki nodded weakly, his head fell back against the back of the sofa. He was passing out. 

“Hey!” Darcy shouted at him. “Don’t pass out on me.” 

He opened his eyes again. “I should stay awake longer just to gaze at your beautiful face.” 

Darcy felt herself blushing. “That’s the fever talking. When was the last time you’ve eaten? You’re hungry and feverish and delirious.” 

“It is not delirium. You truly are beautiful Darcy Lewis. That is why I could not let the Lorasians harm you the day we met.” Loki said. 

“Nope. Delirius.” Darcy shook her head and went to find something he could eat. “I don’t suppose they have anything like chicken noodle soup where you’re from.” she called back to him as she opened the can and poured it into a bowl. “It’s not exactly the nectar of the gods…” she told Loki as she brought the microwaved meal back to him. 

“Thank you all the same,” he said weakly. He ate half the soup and then fell into a deep sleep. 

Darcy sent Jane a text asking her if she’d heard of Nightlilly. Jane had not. Darcy tried to get her to ask Thor about it. Thor was busy with the Avengers and not with her at the moment. 

“Shit,” Darcy muttered out loud. Loki stirred a little at her words. Looking at him, passed out on her couch, bleeding, feverish, it was difficult to believe he would even last three days. Loki was dying and he was dying right now. 

Darcy sent another text to Jane, “Let me know as soon as the Avengers are back?” 

“Sure,” Jane replied. 

Darcy pulled out her laptop and started doing whatever research she could on the physiology of the Frost Giants. She did have limited access to Shield and that was where she started looking. Nothing there seemed to be of any help. She crossed the room and once again put a hand on Loki’s forehead. He felt warmer than he had an hour earlier. This was not good. A god was dying in her apartment and there was nothing she could do about it. She removed her hand from Loki’s forehead and moved to go back to her computer and continue her research. Loki caught her hand with his own. His eyes were still closed. 

“Do not leave me to die alone, Darcy Lewis…” he said weakly. 

“You’re not gonna die,” Darcy said firmly. “I’m not gonna let you.” 

“You can not stop it. You can not go to Asgard yourself and there isn’t time to convince someone else to go.” Loki said. 

“If you believed that, why did you come here?” 

“Because I didn’t want to die alone…” he rasped. 

Darcy didn’t quite know where it came from, but she felt a few tears running down her face. She sat down on the floor next to the sofa and held on to Loki’s hand. He lay flat on his back, his breathing labored as he clung to her hand. She felt as if there was nothing else she could do for him but stay at his side. She woke up to the beeping of her cell phone some hours later. She had fallen asleep with her head on Loki’s chest and he had wrapped an arm around her. Darcy pulled herself free and checked her text messages. 

“Avengers are back. Not sure why you care. Good night anyway.” Jane had sent. 

Darcy immediately dialed Jane’s number. “Jane? Can I talk to Thor?” 

“Um...okay…” Jane said, sounding confused. 

“Hello Darcy,” Thor said, moments later. 

“I have an emergency in my apartment. There’s something very important that you need to see.” Darcy said. 

“If it is that important, I will be there immediately.” Thor offered. 

“It is,” Darcy said. 

Darcy went out into the hallway outside her apartment to wait for Thor. He had been there twice before with Jane. At the speed he could fly it wouldn’t take more than a couple of minutes for him to arrive. 

“What is this emergency you spoke of?” Thor said as he approached her from the end of the hallway. 

“You aren’t going to like it,” Darcy began. “Come in and see?” 

Thor followed her into her apartment and caught sight of Loki unconscious on the couch. “What in hels happened to him?” He knelt down next to his dying brother. 

“He said he was wounded by a poisoned blade fighting Gulvard of the Lorasians. He said he needs a flower that grows on Asgard to survive. Nightlilly.” 

“I know of this flower. I will get some for him this very moment.” Thor got to his feet. “It will take but a few hours. You will watch over him in that time?” 

“Yeah, it’s not like either of us are going anywhere,” Darcy said. 

Thor moved towards the window as if to fly away then stopped. “Did he say if there was any further threat to his life? I should hate to see you hurt by enemies of Loki.” 

“He said that he killed Gulvard and ended what would have been an invasion of Midgard. I don’t know about any further threats.” 

“You should send for Tony Stark or Steve Rogers nonetheless, just in case any threat remains.” Thor told her as he left out her window. 

“Yeah…” Darcy muttered after he was gone. “I don’t think so.” Steve Rogers and Tony Stark wouldn’t want Loki to survive. Besides, even if Loki did have any enemies still after him, they wouldn’t know where to look for him on a strange planet. 

Darcy crossed the room and went back to sit on the floor next to the sofa. Loki had asked her not to let him die alone and she wasn’t going to leave him. It didn’t make any sense but it was something she had to do. It was hours later when she awoke to Thor’s return. He said nothing about the fact that she was sleeping on her knees with her head on Loki’s bare chest. Thor came in through the window and brought with him a dozen flowers. Darcy moved aside as Thor pulled some petals from the flower, tore them into shreds and put them directly on the open wound. A puff of smoke arose from Loki’s skin. 

“Is it supposed to do that?” Darcy him. 

Thor nodded. “It means he is healing. He will need the wound cleaned each time that the smoke ends and new petals applied. I will stay and care for him or if you wish I can take him elsewhere.” 

“No...I’ll do it.” Darcy offered. “He did come to me after all and he saved my life the last time he was here. It’s the least I can do.” She didn’t want to tell Thor that Loki hadn’t wanted his brother to be the one to save him. 

Thor nodded sadly. “Perhaps that would be best. He would not want me here. I should return to Jane.” 

“Will… will he be in pain when he wakes up?” 

“Most likely, yes. Make some of the leaves from the flower into a tea, that should help dull the pain. I will check on you tomorrow.” 

After Thor was gone, Darcy didn’t leave Loki’s side for hours. She had never seen herself as the nurse type of person but she found herself invested in Loki’s survival. She washed his wound, changed the flower petals, checked his fever, gave him water to drink, held his hand, and at times when he was delirious with fever she allowed him to hug her. She didn’t mind too much that he held her close sometimes. At one point, late the following afternoon, he went so far as to not only hug her but to pull her onto the sofa so that she was lying on top of him. 

“Oh god…” Darcy whispered, a little overcome at the rush of desire she felt at the closeness. He was still badly bruised and the wound on shoulder was still smoking but he was lean and muscular and he smelled amazing somehow and he was a god after all...She told herself to stop it. This wasn’t the time to be all filled with lust and even if it was the right time, maybe he wasn’t the right person to be lusting after her. 

“Do you worship the gods?” Loki mumbled from beneath her. 

“Well, I’ve never exactly been religious, but I might reconsider,” Darcy blurted out. 

Loki opened his eyes, took one look at her flushed cheeks, and started to laugh. His laugh was cut short by a cry of pain. “Sorry,” he told her, pain in his tone. “It seems in my delirium I have taken liberties.” He opened his arms to let her go. 

“Not really. I mean it’s not taking liberties if I just let you do it.” Darcy blurted out, and then blushed, unsure if she had said the wrong thing. 

“I believe even in my wounded state I am still stronger than you. Had you wanted to escape my advances, perhaps you would have been unable. For that, I apologize.” 

“If I had wanted to escape, I would have called Thor.” Darcy said, meeting his eyes. 

Loki’s eyes widened as he took in her meaning. Darcy was still on top of him and he was still not at full strength and feverish but none of that seemed to matter. He lifted his head and kissed her longingly. One of his hands was resting on her backside, the other cupped her breast, his tongue was in her mouth, and she could feel his hardness pressed against her center. They lost all track of time as they kissed. Darcy didn’t even hear Thor enter through the open window. 

“What is the meaning of this?” Thor’s question broke them apart. He sounded more concerned than angry. 

Darcy’s first instinct was to get to her feet but Loki’s arm around her prevented her leaving and she realized in that instant that getting up now, would probably feel like betrayal to him, so she stayed put. With his arm still around her, Loki managed to ignore his pain and sit up on the sofa, Darcy still in his lap. 

“What is the meaning of what, brother?” Loki said. 

“I was unaware that either of you cared for one another,” Thor said, more calmly this time. “Are you well Loki?”  
“I am much improved. I assume it was you who brought me the flowers?” Loki said. 

“I’m sorry. I had to tell him.” Darcy spoke up. 

Loki nodded. 

“And I will have to tell the others where you are,” Thor said. “You never carried out your full sentence for your crimes.” 

Darcy suddenly felt sick. She didn’t want this to happen. “He isn’t well yet. He’s still injured.” She protested. 

“And once he is fully recovered he will be able to flee from justice.” 

“I have already carried out a prison sentence under the Lorasians. Three years of near constant torture. Have I not been punished enough?” Loki asked. 

“What would you have me do?” Thor asked. “Pretend you were never here?” 

“That would be preferable, yes.” Loki said. 

“And you would do what? Hide here as Darcy Lewis lover?” Thor asked, still unconvinced. 

“If she’ll have me, I will. If not I will go with you back to Asgard. I can’t see the point in trying to hide alone and live alone and worst of all die alone. I’ll go with you if I can not stay,” Loki looked to Darcy for an answer. 

She was taken aback. God. What a sudden decision to spring on her. She barely knew Loki. She knew she was attracted to him. Hell she could hardly resist him. She knew he had saved her life and that he was not truly a monster like people believed. But to invite him to stay with her or let him go to prison? That was not a decision that she wanted to make. She could see the hope and fear in Loki’s eyes and she could see by the expression on Thor’s face that he was willing to allow his brother to hide in this manner if she would permit it. 

Darcy let out a frustrated sigh. “Fine. He can stay.” 

“You will wear a bracelet so that I will always know your location,” Thor said. 

“I expected nothing less,” Loki agreed. 

“And if you harm Darcy Lewis in any way, this arrangement will come to a swift end.” Thor went on. 

Loki nodded. “I assume you want your sword back. I hid it in the paving stones outside your Avengers Facility before I came here. It is there along with my spear.”

“I truly hope you have changed brother. I do not trust you but I have hope that I might be wrong.” Thor fitted Loki with a single silver Asgardian bracelet on his left wrist and he left the two of them alone. 

Darcy was still sitting on Loki’s lap. He glanced down at her, searching her eyes for a moment. 

“Are you really gonna stay here or do you have some other plan to escape?” she asked him. 

“The only plans I have at the moment involve moving from this sofa to a real bed, a bed with you in it.”


	2. Chapter 2

Darcy couldn’t concentrate at work. How in the hell was a SHIELD analyst supposed to focus on analyzing anything when all she could think about was the previous night? It had been, by far, the best sex of her life. Not that she’d had a lot of sex to compare it to. She wasn’t that kind of girl. There had been Garret, her high school boyfriend and because his parents had been super religious and not approved of her, they had only been able to sneak some alone time a handful of times. And then in college there had been Jason the jerk face who had cheated on her a month after they had moved in together. During senior year she had dated Mike who had been really hot but turned out to just be boring. He had always been done and snoring three minutes after he took her to bed. When Mike had broken up with her she hadn’t really been that sad about it. Since Mike she had been on a few dates but she hadn’t brought any of them home for the night. Now she could hardly wait to get back home. 

By the time Darcy finally did get out of work she was a conflicted mess of emotions. On the one hand she knew that Loki was not exactly a good guy. She should have never agreed to let him stay. She should call Jane right now and get Thor to take him home but… on the other hand...how could she say no to another night like the one she had just had? Plus there was the fact that he was probably only using her until he had a means to escape Thor. In fact she was almost sure that was the case. He might not even still be in her apartment when she got home anyway but if he were...if he did turn out to still be there she didn’t know what she should do about him. 

Darcy unlocked her apartment that night having never been so nervous about going home. Loki was sprawled out on her sofa reading a book from off her bookshelf, Fifty Shades of Grey. He glanced up at her as she entered. 

“Uh..hi..” Darcy said. 

Loki put the book aside. “You know you have an interesting selection of books?” 

“I never actually even finished reading that,” Darcy said a little defensively. 

Loki sat up and swung his feet to the floor. “I liked some of your other titles better,” he said as Darcy put away her purse and keys. 

“Which ones?” She asked him, genuinely curious. 

“Well I liked-“ A knock sounded at the door before Loki could finish. 

Shit. She had a visitor? Loki was t0o recognizable after all the news footage from the Battle of New York. “I gotta get that,” Darcy said, a little panicked. “Bedroom. Go!” 

Loki went to the bedroom and shut the door while Darcy went to the front door. As soon as she opened the door she regretted it. 

“What do you want Dad?” 

“I need a favor kid,” The man slurred, clearly drunk. His graying hair was a mess as was his polo shirt and jeans. “Stella kicked me out.” 

“That’s What happens when you’re an asshole to women. They kick you out.” 

“I told her I was sorry but she didn’t believe me,” he whined. “Let me stay for one night, two nights, three tops, and I promise I will make it up to you?” 

“Uh..that’s gonna be a big fat nope,” Darcy told him. She moved to shut the door before he could react to that but he somehow got his arm in the way and pushed the door open in spite of her efforts to shut him out. “You can’t come in here!” She told him more firmly. He was drunk and she didn’t even trust him sober. Drunk was far worse. 

Greg Lewis stumbles across the room and threw himself on the couch. Darcy watched him for a moment as struggled to remove the backpack he wore. 

“Dad, I said you can’t stay. You need to leave.” 

“I can’t believe that my little girl would turn away her own father.” He unzipped the backpack and pulled out a can of beer. “I raised you. I put food on the table and gave you a home. This...this is the least you can do for your old man.” 

“No, this is bullshit. It was mom who put food on the table. It was mom who raised me. I don’t owe you anything.” 

He got to his feet, angry, and Darcy took a step back having too much experience with his drunken anger to not keep her distance. He saw her fear and his anger faded. “Darcy… I would never hurt you...never…” he reached out to hug her and she reflexively slapped his hand away. 

“Don’t touch me,” she said through gritted teeth. 

He stumbled forward, too drunk to be dissuaded so easily, and pulled her into a bear hug. Darcy struggled against him, making every effort to push him away. The last thing she wanted was to be anywhere near her drunk father. He was too strong for her. When the man was able to stay sober long enough to hold down a job he had always worked in construction so he was pretty strong for his age. She tried to back out of his hug but he fell forward and ended up pinning her against the refrigerator with his fall. Unstable, he fell to the floor on his face at her feet. She caught glimpse of the bedroom door closing. Apparently Loki had been about the come out of the room but changed his mind when Greg hit the floor. Her dad was passed out cold anyway. Darcy stepped over him and went to the bedroom. 

“He’s not waking up anytime soon,” she told Loki. “Wanna help me move him out into the hallway?” 

“Of course,” Loki agreed. Darcy didn’t actually do much helping. Loki dragged her father out of the kitchen and out the front door into the hallway. Darcy put his backpack on the floor next to him and followed Loki back inside, locking the door behind him. “That was your father?” Loki asked her. 

“Yeah. Pretty awesome guy, isn’t he?” She tried to disguise her shame with sarcasm. 

“I take it he drinks often?” Loki asked. “And that he has hurt you…” 

Darcy shrugged. “It was never more than a slap in the face or being grabbed by an arm and dragged off someplace I didn’t want to go. Besides, it was a long time ago. I haven’t actually talked to him much in the last couple of years. It’s not like there was anything to talk about.” 

Loki reached out and touched her face. “No one should have any right to strike this lovely face.” 

Darcy resisted the urge to just melt at those words. It was pretty difficult to not just stand there and grin like an idiot. She made herself take a step back away from his touch. “Not that I don’t appreciate a good compliment but...you never answered my question last night. How do I know you’re not just using me to escape?” 

Loki crossed his arms and leaned against the kitchen counter. “You’re right to be suspicious. It would be problematic for me to stay here at great length. I will have to eventually find someway to remove the bracelet without Thor knowing about it. That doesn’t mean I don’t enjoy your company nor does it prevent you from enjoying mine.” 

“I don’t know, maybe it does,” Darcy found herself arguing as she opened the fridge to see about supper and found the contents to be more sparse than she had remembered. “For one thing, you eat a lot. You’re probably gonna need some other clothes too. How am I gonna pay for all that?’ 

Loki reached into the pocket of his jacket which her still wore and pulled out three gold coins. “If you sell these to someone who deals in gold, you will find that they will more than cover my expenses for the better part of a year.” he passed her the coins which she regarded skeptically. 

“I guess that helps,” Darcy couldn’t really argue with the fact that he had just solved the financial aspect of her dilemma. 

“But this isn’t about payment for the length of my stay, is it?” he asked, ever perceptive. 

“Not really,” Darcy agreed, getting out some leftover lasagna to put into the microwave. He knew what she trying to say. He knew he was a distraction to her. He had known she would agree to let him stay for that very reason. 

“Then...I’ll not sleep in your bed again. I’ll not so much as touch you after this.” he stepped away from her and went to the living room. He switched on the TV which he had apparently learned how to use while she was out. 

Darcy finished heating her lasagna and then put a second plate into the microwave. She placed a plate in front of Loki on her way past him, making a point to sit in the recliner and not on the sofa next to him. If she sat next to him she might not be able to resist sitting a little closer and probably sitting close would end with them going to bed together again. That was a bad idea, wasn’t it? Or maybe they could have a sort of friends with benefits arrangement? He wasn’t staying for good, he wasn’t her boyfriend, but like he had said, that didn’t mean she couldn’t enjoy his company. Darcy finished her food and before she could change her mind she moved to sit on the sofa beside him. 

“You don’t have to sleep out here,” she told him. 

And he didn’t.


End file.
